30/01/2012

I usually
prepare tomato chutney. Whenever I make Aloo paratha or Khichdi I prepare a
simple one by either blanching or roasting. But whenever there is some south Indian
dish is in menu then I always go with tamatar, pyaz and nariyal; also called Onion-Tomato Chutney!

Makes for 2

Preparation
Time: 5 Mins

Cooking
Time: 15 Mins

Ingredients:

Tomato-1 No

Onion-1 No

Chana Dal-1
1/2 Tbsp

Mustard Seeds-2
Tsp

Dry red
chillies-3-4

Coconut-3/4
medium slices

Hing-A
pinch

Curry Leaves-Few

Dhania/Coriander-Small bunch

Oil/Ghee-2
Tbsp

Salt-As per
taste

Procedure:

1.Cut the onion and tomato in quarter.

2.Heat a tbsp of oil in kadhai and fry
onion, tomato, chilies, coconut and a tbsp of chana dal.

3.Transfer to a plate and let it cool for some time.

4.Grind the above with little water,coriander and salt to a fine paste.Transfer to a serving dish/bowl.

5. Now heat the remaining oil in a kadhai and add mustard seeds.Once it splutter add hing,curry leaves and remaining chana dal.Add this to the chutney.

17/01/2012

Here
is the recipe for Rava idli that I tried last weekend. Along with the idli
I prepared tomato-onion chutney, sambar and idli podi.While preparing the idlis my maid came in and she told me that the secret ingredient for moist and soft idlis are grated carrot and cucumber.She in fact asked me not to add ENO but i didnt take the chance.But for sure, next time i will follow her advice.

Ingredients:

Rava/Sooji/Samolina-1
Cup

Curd-1/2
Cup

Carrot
(Grated)-1/2 Cup

Finely
Chopped coriander-1 Tbsp

Eno-1
Tsp

Mustard
Seeds (Black)-1 Tsp

Urad
dal-1 Tsp

Chana
dal-1tsp

Ginger-Garlic Paste-1/2 Tsp

Oil-1-2
Tbsp

Salt-As
needed

Water-As
required to reach the consistency.

Method:

1. Heat a kadhai and add oil
to it. Add ginger-garlic paste, mustard seeds and the two dals and let the seeds crackle. Keep the
flame in low heat otherwise it will turn black.

2.Now add the rava, carrot and coriander. Fry it in low flame. Do not let the semolina change its color.

3.Let this mixture cool. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and then add the curd,water and salt to it.

4. Meanwhile get ready with
the steaming part. Grease the idli plates and pour required water in the cooker
and let it come to a boil.

5. Now add the ENO and mix well.
Now immediately pour this mixture to the moulds and steam it for 10-15 mins.

6. And serve the hot idlis
with sambar, podi and chutney.

The recipe for podi, sambar and chutney is due.Now its time to head to the kitchen and prepare dinner :-)

14/01/2012

Today being the first day of Magh Bihu, I tried to make
some Ghila Pithas at home.Pithas are prepared during bihu in Assam.My mom used to prepare two varieties;Ghila Pitha and Til Pitha.And also she prepares more than hundreds in numbers.These are prepared with a special rice called Bora saul.The soaked rice is then grounded in a manual wooden mill called Dheki (A pic is attached for reference).

I
could not find this rice in Bangalore, hence landed up making
with the normal one named Sona Masoori.

Recipe
is adapted from my mom over the phone.

Makes
13-15 Pithas

Ingredients

Rice-
2 Cups

Jaggery
(Grated)-2 Cups

Fennel/Saunf
(Optional)-2 Tbs

Baking
Powder- A Pinch

Mustard
Oil-For Frying

Method:

1. Add Jaggery to little
water and let it soak for some time. Similarly, soak rice in enough water for
5-6 hrs.

Note:
I preferred to soak it overnight.

2.
Drain the water from rice and grind it to make a smooth powder. The rice needs
to be powder without using any water to it.

3. Sieve the rice flour.

4. Grind the Jaggery and water to make a smooth paste. Usually people prefer to do it manually.

5. Now fold the rice flour into the Jaggery water.It should be little thicker than the cake consistency. Add fennel and baking powder to it.

6. Heat the wok and add oil to it.Now take a spoonful of the above batter and fry it in low
heat.

07/01/2012

I
love south Indian dishes. Be it Dosas, Idli, Bisi bele bath, Kesari bath, in
fact anything and everything. I usually prepare idly and dosas on Saturdays and
Sundays. Today I thought of trying rava idly and found this delicious oats idly
in divya’s blog. So here it is one more recipe for my guinea …. (My hubby) who is the first and the foremost taster of my
recipes.

Instant Oats Rava Idli

Yield 10 idlis

Recipe
source –Divya’s Blog

Ingredients:

Instant
Oats - 1 cup [I used Quaker]

Rava -
1/2 cup

Curd -
1/2 cup

Water -
3/4 cup or as required

Oil - 1
tsp

Mustard
seeds - 1 tsp

Green chili
- 1, finely chopped

Carrot
- 1 medium size, grated

Hing -
1/2 tsp

Salt to
taste

Coriander
leaves - 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Baking
soda - 1/2 tsp

Oil -
to grease the idli plates

Cashew
nut halves for garnish - optional

Method:

1.In a
kadai dry roast the oats for 3-4 minutes, let cool and then grind to a fine powder.
Keep aside.

2.In the
same pan, roast rava for 3-4 minutes, transfer to a mixing bowl.

3.Add a
tsp of oil into a kadai and splutter mustard seeds. Mix in green chili, grated
carrot and coriander leaves and sauté for a minute or so.

4.In a
big mixing bowl, combine oats powder, roasted rava and the sautéed carrots
along with the tempering. Add hing and salt to taste and give a good mix.

5.Mix in
the curds and enough water to make the batter.

6.Grease idli plates with a little oil and place
one cashew nut half in the middle and pour idli batter on top.

7.Steam
for 10-15 minutes.

Serve
hot with coconut chutney or sambhar.

Note:

* The batter
should be slightly thicker than the regular idli batter and would be a bit sticky.
Pour less amount of batter per idli plate to get soft, porous idli.

06/01/2012

This one can be prepared and have at any point of the year but
tastes awesome during winter. I had it for the first time and i have no words
to describe it. We set up everything on the terrace: a small bonfire, sitting
arrangement and preparation of the littis. I simply loved the taste with loads of Ghee…

1.Mix all the filling ingredients with sattu. Add required amount
of water to make the stuffing moist and easy to fill. Keep aside.

2. Add the seeds in the wheat flour. Mix lightly with finger tips, and knead
with water to make soft dough. Make balls out of dough of 2.5" to 3"
diameter (Loiyas) in size with hand.3. Stuff 2 to 3 teaspoon of sattu filling in the center of each balls and close it
from all sides.

4. We can either bake these littis in a preheated oven at 180C or roast in Goithas
(Burnt cow dung cakes).Note: I
used Goithas.5. Bake/Roast till one side is brown and black spots come on the litti surface.
Then turn over the litti and bake/roast for few more minutes until that side is
brown as well.6. Take out and dip in pure ghee or butter and serve with Baigan (Brinjal) ka
bharta and Dhania Chutney.

03/01/2012

Courtesy: Sanjeevkapoor.comBaking soda and baking powder are different in their compositions and cannot be interchanged in a recipe. Baking powder is made with baking soda with an acidic base so it reacts more. In fact in cakes which do not use eggs for leavening we make use of both baking soda and baking powder. Recipes such as dhokla which need baking soda do not do well if you use baking powder. Baking powder causes more aeration than needed, resulting in a texture that cannot hold itself and hence the dhokla turns out heavy and dense instead of light and fluffy. Same is the case in cakes that use eggs. They rise better with baking powder than with baking soda. Some people like to boil pulses like chana and rajma with a pinch of baking soda. It is better to use baking soda as baking powder will turn them into a mashed substance! Baking soda incidentally is a good cleaning agent in the kitchen! Baking powder has no such quality….Sanjeev Kapoor

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About Me

I love Cooking. Sometimes I feel 24hrs is not sufficient for me..I can cook all through the day, months and years. I am very passionate of baking. I’m inspired a lot by Nigella Lawson and Sanjeev Kapoor is my favorite. Like Nigella, I too cook for my own pleasure, for enjoyment, and I find cooking therapeutic.Its a very very big honor for me to be in the "Top 50s" in the Master chef India Season 2.I learned a lot and it will always motivate me to go ahead!